Did You See That

It was the series finale of Spooks tonight, and as usual they didn’t fail to deliver with a gripping conclusion.  We learned in this episode that Zaf was indeed dead. He was kidnapped earlier in the series and I had hoped he would turn up alive, but his disfigured remains were dumped at the British consulate in Karachi, identifiable only by dental records. His death was at the hands of a group who were kidnapping intelligence officers to extract information under torture. Their next targets were Jo and Adam, aided and abetted by CIA’s London liaison officer, Bob Hogan who had gone “freelance”. The final scenes saw a race against time as Harry and the others raced to the scene whilst Jo pleaded with Adam to kill her to spare her a fate of torture, rape and murder.

Did he kill her before special forces broke into the building? To be honest, it looked like he had but we won’t know til the next series. The refreshing thing about Spooks has always been its ability to dispense with major characters as the story dictates. In other programmes, the viewer always has the feeling that whatever the tension, the “hero” will live to fight another day. Spooks is nothing like as predictable.

Let ’s hope it’s back on our screens soon…

BUY SPOOKS ON DVD

In a shock upset, Leon Jackson won the 4th series of X Factor and a £1million recording contract, defeating Rhydian and Same Difference. Was Leon the best singer? Really, I don’t think so. So let’s consider why he won…

The Scottish Angle

The  Scots are a proud bunch and seem to enjoy voting en bloc to support their local candidate. Look at how far the McDonald brothers got year. Or how David Sneddon won Fame Academy and Michelle McManus won Pop Idol. Leon was helped by this and the fact that the producers pitched it as an England vs Wales vs Scotland contest in the final.

The Celebrity Guest

Rhydian got Kathryn Jenkins. A great voice but I think mostly unknown to pop fans. Same Difference got Jason Donovan, last seen in Iceland ads with Kerry Katona. Leon got global superstar, Kylie Minogue. Hmmm…..

Extra Time?

When it got to the final two, I think the lines were reopened after Leon’s final performance - which was before Rhydian has performed his final song. This gave Leon a bit of extra time to mop up votes.

Rhydian the Cold Fish

Rhydian was a little hard to warm to. Fantastic voice, but he had an icey personality whereas soppy Leon would blub almost uncontrollably at the drop of a hat.

Leon came across a nice guy with a rich tone to his voice but will he have a long career? I very much doubt it. They said he could be the UK’s Buble. Michael Buble isn’t just a great singer, he also writes brilliant songs. Leon is no Michael Buble. I think we just found a new David Sneddon.I’d actually prefer to see Leona hang on and claim the Christmas number one.

What did you think?

Jonathan Ross had the pleasure of being joined by Jerry Seinfeld on his Friday night chat show. It was simply brilliant: a tour de force from the hilarious Mr Seinfeld.

The BBC has selected  some clips - not the best - for its official YouTube channel. Hopefully someone will post a full copy soon.

In tonight’s semi final of the X Factor, Niki left the competition. Earlier in the evening she gave a belting performance of One Moment In Time. It sounded rough round the edges to my amateur ears.

Leon was back to his cringeworthy embarrasing worst, but somehow made it through despite some ropey vocals and a stiff first performance, and some terrible dancing in the second. Same Differerence gave us the bullying sob story and are through to the final.  Well, could we have an X Factor final without one of Simon’s acts? It is his show after all!

Rhydian was on top form, singing two of the songs which really his voice is made for: Bridge Over Troubled Water and You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Michael Buble was the special guest, and was terrific as usual. What a swell guy! He got some bad publicity in the week but he came across as so personable and seemed to take a real interest in the acts.

BTW, Dead Dad Niki is a cruel nick name but the makers of the show really seemed to have traded on it, as they have done with any sob story they can find.

What did you think? Did the right person go?